US Embassy in Jerusalem Will Open in May

President Donald Trump announced today that the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will open in May 2018 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of when David Ben Gurion announced the establishment of the Jewish state and Israel took its place among the nations on May 14, 1948.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed off on the security plan yesterday for moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned for mid-May.

Several possible sites are being considered. The most likely plan involves a phased approach to opening the embassy in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood at an existing U.S. facility that handles consular affairs like passports and visas. The U.S. could initially retrofit a small suite of offices in that facility to accommodate U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and one or two top aides such as his chief of staff. The rest of the embassy staff would remain in Tel Aviv until the Arnona facility is expanded to accommodate more personnel.

President Donald Trump announced in December that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and promised to begin the process of relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. He has held to his promise despite facing a backlash from the Palestinian Authority and its supporters. Trump said, “I promised to look at the world’s challenges with fresh eyes. We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past.”

Liberty Counsel produced a 13-part original TV series aired on TBN called Why Israel Matters. This series can be viewed on the TBN website or here.